D
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings drew a line under the quarterback search with Maye: D.
by Zach69 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 2 steals
· 0 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Vikings did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D is the result.
Whatever Drake Maye becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The safety hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Getting Smith-Wade where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, safety very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 8 they get a franchise quarterback. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 11th pick they get a true top target at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Kris Jenkins at Round 2, Pick 10 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They took Junior Colson at par in No. 78, which is nothing to complain about. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Khyree Jackson in pick 108 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Ainias Smith at slot 118 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Will Shipley in the Round 4 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jaylen Wright in the 148th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Layden Robinson. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A slide stopped in Round 5, Pick 30, with Chau Smith-Wade worth more than the price. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Brennan Jackson slipping to pick No. 179 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No edge and no loss on Maurice Smith in pick 230; it is a wash and a sensible one. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.